Amid the fear generated by the pandemic of coronavirus, attorney Patricia Corrales urged the release of Juan Cancino, a legal resident of the United States, whom a migration judge refuses to accept the repeal of his criminal conviction handed down by a California Supreme Court judge.
“The situation is very critical at the Adelanto Detention Center. Given the level that the coronavirus has reached, it is more urgent than ever that they release Juan, "said the lawyer.
He simply commented that the lawyers, interpreters and relatives of immigrants in detention have been asked to wear masks and protective glasses approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to enter Adelanto.
"Why keep a legal resident who is no longer deportable. It's ridiculous! On March 18, I resubmitted an emergency motion to the Board of Immigration Appeals after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Juan cannot be removed from the country, "he said.
Fear of the virus
However, he mentioned that no one answers his phone calls or emails. “They did not do it before, now with the coronavirus, less. There is a lack of responsibility and courtesy. "
The concern that Juan may contract the virus within Adelanto is greater, after the lawyer was informed that another of her clients was in quarantine, but they did not want to explain if it was a coronavirus.
"Juan is very frustrated, and his mother is very sad," he explained.
Attorney Corrales, who for 18 years worked for the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) in national security and denaturation cases, and currently has her own law firm in Pasadena, California, made it clear that the Juan's problems started when in 2016 he assaulted his brother during a fight.
Although the brother did not file charges, Juan was detained by the police and sent to prison for 18 months after pleading guilty.
The defender stated that the same day he was released from prison in 2018, he was detained by immigration agents with the intention of deporting him.
Because of a judge's mistake
Juan has been in the Adelanto Detention Center since September 9, 2018.
“When he was in custody, he applied for asylum, but was denied. On July 25, 2019, a judge in Adelanto ordered his deportation, ”said the lawyer.
Born in Guatemala, he was brought to the United States at the age of nine. He became a resident more than ten years ago. Before falling prisoner, he lived in Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County. He is the father of a minor of two years of age.
When attorney Corrales took Juan's criminal case, he found that the Superior Court judge who initially sentenced him to 18 months in jail, made an incorrect statement not allowed recommending that he not be deported because the lawsuit with his brother had been a family conflict.
“Juan never understood that his residence was at stake. His lawyer also failed to alert him to the dangers of pleading guilty. Her brother never testified against her, ”he said.
In May 2019, the advocate filed a motion to have the criminal conviction revoked, and she obtained that on December 11, 2019, another Superior Court judge repealed the sentence of assault with a deadly weapon based on legal error and constitutional.
"When a sentence is revoked on legal grounds, it is no longer valid for migration purposes. I immediately notified my ICE colleagues to stop his deportation and release him, ”he said.
They refuse to set him free
However, neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nor ICE accepted the revocation, and they do not want to release Juan. This month, the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit determined that the one born in Guatemala is not deportable.
Tesla Cancino, Juan's mother, said that her son suffers from health problems, complains of back pain and of feeling numb two of his fingers and left arm.
He also assured that the family is very emotionally and financially drained.
"He has no one in Guatemala. What will you do over there? Here is his whole family. He needs to go free to get to work and see for his son. ”
Since the coronavirus became a global pandemic, several pro-immigrant organizations have raised concerns that it may spread easily in Adelanto due to its unsanitary conditions and its failure to provide adequate medical services.
Pablo E. Páez, the spokesperson for the GEO group in charge of managing the Adelanto prison for immigrants, said that until March 9, they had no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and assured that they worked closely with the federal government to ensure health. of the detainees.
